The most famous museum in England. The British Museum, London is one of the largest historical museums in the world.

To learn the complex, intricate and surprisingly interesting history of the United Kingdom, to touch the traditions and culture of its multinational population, it is not enough to visit only London. Of course, you need to start your acquaintance with the "Foggy Albion" from its capital, because the museums in London have collected unique exhibits, and walking along its streets, you can see the most famous sights of London, which have long become the hallmark of the UK. But Great Britain is famous not only for its fogs, but also for the many Mysteries and mysteries hidden from the eyes of ordinary tourists. In this article, we will take you on a short trip throughout the UK and get acquainted with some of the museums in England, as well as Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

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American Museum in Bath

The city of Bath, built by the Romans, in itself can be called a unique open-air museum in England. But in addition to the Roman baths, in honor of which the city got its name, there are many interesting museums in England. One of such curious museums in Great Britain is the American Museum. Here you can see a unique collection of quilts (about 200) of various 18-20 centuries: 50 quilts can be seen in the textile department, the rest in the historical departments of the Museum of England. Also in the textile gallery you can get acquainted with the objects of decorative and applied art of the Navajo Indians. Around the museum in the UK are gardens and parks, which are also connected with the history of America and its first Indian inhabitants.

This museum has become an innovation that has never happened before. The Museum of Modern Design in London was the first dedicated to this field of activity. Its concept was developed by Terence Conran, the head and head of the Kornan group, which developed the main project. The buildings that served as a banana warehouse in the 40s of the XX century, located near the Tower Bridge on the banks of the Thames, were taken as the basis.

Here from the entrance sounds unobtrusive music. More than 300 thousand visitors come here every year. This is a museum of the legend of the 20th century - the famous band The Beatles. The official title is The Beatles Story. It is located on the territory of the Port of Liverpool in the basement of Albert Dock, which is part of an ensemble of administrative buildings, which are themselves recognized as a monument of historical heritage and are under the protection of UNESCO.

It all started with the fact that after the death of Benjamin Pollock, the manufacturer of traditional puppet theaters on cardboard, a lot of clichés for printing them, among which were the very first ones, back in 1830, were sold by his daughters to an antiques dealer.

Until quite recently, this seemingly ordinary old house on Doughty Street was little known to anyone. In 1923, it was decided to demolish it, however, as it turned out, it was the only remaining house in London, where the great English writer Charles Dickens once lived.

This museum simply could not fail to appear in London - the capital of Great Britain, which was once the "Queen of the Seas". The National Maritime Museum was founded by official decree of the country's parliament in 1934 and opened on April 27, 1937 by King George VI. It is located in Greenwich (a district of London), and is a complex of historical buildings of the 17th century, which are objects of world cultural heritage.

This museum was created by members of the London Film Institute David Francis and Leslie Hardcastle back in 1988, but due to funding difficulties, it stopped its work already in 1999, despite its popularity.

This caused strong dissatisfaction with the London public, and after a long 9 years, the museum was revived already in 2 branches - in the South Bank and in Covent Garden, under the new name - "London Film Museum".

The appearance of the Museum of Natural History, or as it is sometimes called, the Museum of Natural History, in the capital of Great Britain was preceded by the creation in 1759 of the British Museum. This happened after Hans Sloan, a famous doctor and naturalist, handed over his huge collections to the people of Britain and the Parliament decided to open a museum. It was then located in Montague House in Bloomsbury - one of the districts of London.

The world of magic and fairy tales - this is how you can call this unique museum. Yes, actually this is not a museum at all, but a colorful show, a journey into a fairy tale, into the magical world of Harry Potter. And all this magic was made possible by the creator of the Harry Potter saga so beloved by everyone, the Warner Bros. Concern, by re-equipping one of its Leavesden Studios, which is located 30 km from London in the town of Watford.

In the UK, in London, in 1980, a public museum of the history of urban transport was opened. It is about this museum that we will talk in this article. In 2005, the museum had to be closed for reconstruction, but already in 2007 it began to function as before.

, and many other equally interesting English museums. Visiting any of museums in England you will be satisfied and under a great impression, which will not pass soon.

Of course, not everyone has the opportunity to visit this wonderful country. Therefore, on our website we will try to describe in as much detail as possible. museums in england, provide bright and colorful photos directly from the halls of museums, and, if possible, we will upload videos.

Separately, I want to say about. However, you can familiarize yourself with them on a page specially created for this purpose.

"Haddon Hall Manor was built in the 12th century and has been owned by the same family since 1567. It is often referred to as the only classic example of a medieval fortified..."

"Hatfield House - an estate in the city of Hatfield in the county of Hertfordshire - over the past four centuries has served as the family nest of the Marquesses of Salisbury from the Cecil family (Marquess of Sa ... "

The garden at the Hinton-Empner manor house was created by Ralph Stowell-Dutton, 8th (and last) Baron Sherborne (1898 - 1985). The creation of the garden began in 1930. The mansion, next to which ... "

Deal Castle was built by order of Henry VIII in 1539-1540. This castle was an artillery fortress, which was designed to stop a possible invasion from the Catholics ... "

“Somerset House in London is a beautiful 18th century neoclassical building. In the middle of the 16th century, on the site of the modern building was the city residence of Edward Seymour, 1st ... "

“Windsor Castle is the largest and oldest castle in the world and is one of the official residences of the Queen. The construction of the castle was laid on the orders of William the Conquerer (William the Conquerer ... "

The Globe (or Globe) Theater in London is a replica of an open-air theatre, originally built in 1599. William Shakespeare wrote most of his plays for...

The Sherlock Holmes Museum is the home-museum of the famous private investigator Sherlock Holmes, a literary character created by Arthur Conan Doyle. According to the stories of Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watso...

“The Gainsborough family estate in Lincolnshire has been around for over five hundred years. This is an excellently preserved historical monument of England from the Middle Ages. The mansion was built by Sir Thomas Berg...”

“Westminster Abbey (full name Collegiate Church of St. Peter in Westminster) is located in London, west of the Palace of Westminster. The abbey is an active church, in which even in our ... "

"The National Automobile Museum, located in Bewley, Hampshire, has one of the world's most impressive collections of historic automobiles, as well as thematic books, magazines ... "

“The Car Museum London is the only museum in Europe with a unique collection of classic, original and modified cars from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. In addition to a huge collection ... "

Burton Agnes Hall is an Elizabethan manor built by Sir Henry Griffith between 1598 and 1610 to designs by Robert Smythson. According to sos...»

Old Trafford is the home of the famous football club Manchester United. Visitors to the local museum can look at the huge amount of silver items that were collected by the club for ... "

"The ancient history of the city of York comes to life in its dungeons, which present an appreciative audience with 10 different chronicle shows, covering the darkest moments in the life of the region over the past 2 thousand years...."

The capital of Great Britain offers its guests an exciting and meaningful cultural travel program. Indelible impressions from your stay in London leave walks in numerous museums and galleries. Here, every tourist will find interesting educational institutions of various thematic areas. Museums in London amaze visitors with a magnificent wealth of expositions. They are a reflection of the cultural heritage of all mankind. During the heyday of the British Empire, valuable works of art and ancient artifacts were brought to London from all over the world. Most museums will delight tourists with free accessibility.

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Saatchi Gallery

The Saatchi Gallery is one of the most unusual British museums. Everything here is amazing - from the expositions to the building in which they are located. After all, the former barracks can hardly be called the best place to get acquainted with art. The gallery got its name in honor of the founder, art dealer Charles Saatchi. It was he who decided to make his personal collection of contemporary paintings public. Today, Saatchi boasts not only permanent, but temporary exhibitions, some of which are a real sensation among both visitors and critics. And not always in the positive sense of the word.

Going to the gallery, you should prepare to experience a variety of emotions - from delight and admiration to bewilderment and disgust. After all, how else can you relate to the works of Mark Quinn - heads cast from frozen blood? Or an animal cut up in formaldehyde by Demian Hirst? Unfortunately or fortunately, these exhibitions are already in the past and it will not be possible to visit them today. But there are others - no less shocking and shocking.

Causing controversy among critics and interest among ordinary people, even those not related to art. What you will be lucky to see on the day of your visit is a mystery. The gallery is located at Duke of York's HQ, King's Road. Its doors are open daily from 10:00 to 18:00. The box office, where you can get a ticket for free, closes half an hour earlier, at 17-30.

Tate Gallery

The Tate Gallery is the best place to experience British art. Here are the works of various authors, from the 16th century to modern ones. It was started by the industrialist Henry Tate, who decided to make his personal collection public. All works are systematized in chronological and thematic order, for ease of perception. After all, the variety of dates, styles and names can make even experienced connoisseurs dizzy. Portraits, landscapes, everyday sketches, mysticism ... everyone will surely be able to find a canvas to their liking.

2000 was a year of change for the Tate. Her collection has grown so much that the old building on Trafalgar Square is no longer enough. So there was a branch of the Tate Modern on the opposite bank of the Thames. An extraordinary and original room was chosen for it, and the museum housed a power plant in it. Gradually, this place has become a cult among contemporary art lovers around the world. But even if you are indifferent to paintings, it is still worth visiting the Tate Gallery.

At least for a ride on a boat that runs between branches on the Thames, and a cup of coffee in a panoramic cafe under the roof of the Tate Modern. Located at London, Millbank, Tate Britain, its modern branch is opposite St. Paul's Cathedral. Both of them work from 10-00 to 17-50. The first Friday of each month is a “long” day, the doors are open until 20-00. December 24-26 are days off. You don't have to pay for entry. But for a trip on a boat, if it is included in the plans - you have to.

Charles Dickens House Museum

Charles Dickens is one of the most famous English writers. He wrote such works as the adventures of Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and many others. Guests of the museum dedicated to the literary genius can get acquainted not only with his work, but also with the life of a traditional family of the Victorian era. So what can you see? First of all - the dining room, where the whole family gathered. The Victorian-style china plates depict the writer and his friends. Also on the ground floor there is a bedroom with a large canopy bed, a kitchen and a living room.

The second floor is the real realm of Dickens, his study with a dressing room. Here, as if two hundred years ago, there is a table and a chair where works were created that the whole world soon learned about, the first editions of books and even manuscripts lie. The walls of the study and other rooms of the museum are decorated with paintings depicting old London. The Dickens House Museum is located at 48 Doughty Street. Its doors are open from 10-00 to 17-00, tickets at the box office stop selling an hour earlier. Their cost is £9. But on holidays the exhibition is closed.

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In order to feel happy, a person must not only discover new things, get vivid emotions and impressions, but also be able to relax and be liberated. The best place in the British capital for this is the Cupid Museum in London. The exposition, solemnly opened in 2007, attracted the attention of tourists, local residents, and the press. After all, Paris is traditionally considered the city of love, free and a little depraved. London is much more modest in this respect. But, nevertheless, a museum dedicated to erotica, sex and love, nevertheless appeared here.

Its exposition presents paintings, things, as well as interactive exhibits created thanks to modern computer technology: touch screens, multimedia equipment. The organizers of the museum also took care of the lighting - red tones add mystery and even a touch of passion. After getting acquainted with the expositions, you can continue to relax in a cafe where they offer cocktails made from aphrodisiacs. They, according to bartenders, add sexuality to anyone, stimulate attraction and even increase sexual activity.

Those who wish can not only visit the exposition, but also get a consultation from a sexopathologist for an additional fee. One of the most controversial museums in London is located near Piccadilly Circus, at 13 Coventry Street. It is open from 11-00 to 00-00. During the day, until 17:00.

Westminster Abbey Museum

Westminster Abbey is not only the main cathedral of the country, but also one of the symbols of London. The building in the Gothic style recalls the affairs of bygone days and the traditions of old England. By the way, you should not get lost if suddenly somewhere it is designated as the cathedral church of St. Peter - this is the second name of the abbey. In the underground room, which is considered one of the oldest in the entire complex, there is a small but very interesting museum dedicated to the history of the shrine.

Fragments of sculptures and frescoes, funeral statues of members of the royal family and even thrones on which monarchs were crowned. All this can be seen here, the exhibits reflect not only the history of the church, but of the whole of England. The museum has a small souvenir shop where you can take pictures and buy something for memory. By the way, you can enter it from the street without buying entrance tickets.

There is quite a lot of Westminster stuff in London - a chapel, a palace, a cathedral. All these objects should not be confused, let alone united, they exist autonomously from each other, both historically and territorially. The abbey is located at Deans Yd, 20. You can visit it from 10-30 to 16-00 on any day except Sunday, when only parishioners are allowed to enter. However, it is better to clarify the opening hours before the visit, since the church is active and services can be held in it.

Victoria and Albert Museum

The Victoria and Albert Museum is dedicated to the arts and crafts not only in England, but throughout the world. It was founded in 1851 on the initiative of Queen Victoria, and her husband, Prince Albert, did a lot to develop and replenish the collection, acquiring exhibits at his own expense. It was in honor of this couple that the museum got its name in the future.

Today it is among the twenty most popular on the planet. To say that the collection is rich and extensive is to say nothing. 51,000 square meters, 140 halls, more than 4 million exhibits. As a rule, tourists are limited to a cursory inspection, which begins with a collection dedicated to European art from different eras. Impressed by the works of Raphael and other famous people, you should not relax. After all, there are still quite a few interesting collections - architectural, Asian, book, dedicated to fashion. Many of them are called in a modern manner - departments.

Museum tours are completely free. It will take about an hour for a brief review, accompanied by a specialist. Special programs are offered for younger guests and their parents. The cradle of arts and crafts is located in central London, on Cromwell Road. You can visit from 10-00 to 17-45 (on Fridays - until 20-00). Entrance, as well as excursions, is free.

Design Museum

Fans of creativity and everything unusual should definitely visit the London Design Museum. Founded relatively recently, it has already become a mecca for creative people from all over the world. Professionalism is combined with progressive ideas, and innovations are combined with traditions and classics. The museum is located in a three-story building. On the ground floor there are cash desks, office space, an art cafe and a gift shop. All this, even the toilets, is decorated by famous designers in a very unusual style. The second and third floors are occupied by expositions, permanent and temporary.

They are devoted to different areas, but the "core" is made up of exhibits dedicated to the design of clothing and interiors. Moreover, both sketches and graphic sketches, as well as the final results of work, are presented. The room itself is also decorated in an original way and deserves attention. Under the roof there is an exposition dedicated to the history of design - from its very formation to the present. In addition, solemn events, conferences, seminars and classes for children are held here.

It is located at Shad Thames, 28. Visitors are expected daily, from 10-00 to 17-45.

Museum of Natural History

The London Natural History Museum is dedicated to nature - its past, present and even a little future. It consists of two parts - research, where scientists work and conduct scientific research (many years ago, Charles Darwin himself worked here), and the exhibition itself, which is open to visitors. It resembles the scenery for the films and Harry Potter and Night at the Museum. Although, of course, they were not filmed here.

The expositions are divided into several "color zones". The blue one, the most crowded, contains the skeletons of dinosaurs and other long-extinct animals. It is interesting for both children and adults. The green zone is not so large-scale; its expositions include birds, insects and plants. In red, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur every day. Not real ones, of course, but mock-ups. In addition, here you can get acquainted with the "mineral diversity" of our planet. The orange zone is dedicated to the work of Charles Darwin.

There are laboratories where everyone can participate in real scientific experiments. Of course, this entertainment is aimed at children. Little visitors are given priority here in every sense. Located at Cromwell Road, Natural History Museum. You can visit it on any day (except Christmas holidays) from 10-00 to 17-50. Last Friday of the month until 22:30. Entrance to the main exhibition is free.

Cutty Sark Ship Museum

The British are reverent and careful about everything connected with their history. It is not surprising that the ship with the mystical name Cutty Sark, named after the Scottish witch, the heroine of the work of Robert Burns, is perfectly preserved and delights visitors not only with its appearance, but also, so to speak, with its interiors.

Sailors traditionally believe in omens. From the very beginning, they believed that a ship with a mystical and frightening name was not destined for a long life. However, for more than a dozen years it has plied the expanses of the seas and oceans, transporting tea from China to Europe, and has been perfectly preserved to this day. True, in 2007 there was a serious fire, after which restoration work lasted until 2012. Today, Cutty Sark welcomes visitors again. Here you can walk along the decks, look into the holds and even visit the underwater part. It is she who makes the biggest impression on visitors.

An excellent end to the tour will be lunch, well, or an afternoon snack, in the "sea" cafe. And in the souvenir shop you can buy something for memory. Located on the Thames, at Greenwich, King William Walk. You can go up to the deck on any day from 11-00 to 17-00.

Transport Museum

Double-decker tourist buses are one of the symbols of London, its visiting card in the tourist world. They and not only can be seen in the Museum of Transport. Its exposition is quite extensive and occupies a large three-story building. Each of the floors is dedicated to a particular topic. The first is the so-called organizational. There are cash desks, office space, a cafe and a souvenir shop where you can buy something for memory. In addition, young visitors will certainly be interested in the hall with mock-ups, where everything can be not only touched, but also tested in action. However, no matter how interesting it is below, everything interesting lies ahead.

The second floor of the museum is dedicated to the history of the world's first subway. It is not difficult to guess that he appeared in London. Here you can see how the subway was built manually, how new stations appeared and how the scheme of lines and train traffic changed over the years. The third floor is dedicated to land transport. Literally everything related to traffic is presented here - from horse-drawn carts to those very legendary double-decker buses.

You can clearly see how the streets of the British capital have changed over the years. Address: pl. Covent garden. Open daily, from 10-00 to 18-00 (on Fridays it opens an hour later, from 11-00). Children under 16 can visit the exhibition for free.

Madame Tussauds museum

One of the world famous and popular cultural places in London is the wax museum named after the famous sculptor Madame Marie Tussauds. It was founded in 1835 and has been the most visited attraction in the British capital ever since. The modern building of the famous museum, located at the Baker Street subway station, has a characteristic high green dome. The exposition of the complex is divided into thematic halls, which exhibit the greatest collection of wax figures of famous artists, musicians, politicians, athletes and various historical figures.

The skillful detailing of the images, the naturalness of the sculptures, the painstaking work of the artists and the similarity with the original delight the audience. Tourists are given the opportunity to take memorable photos with their idols and even touch them with their hands. Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Usain Bolt, Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe, Johnny Depp, John Travolta, Charlie Chaplin, David Beckham, Bruce Willis, Queen Elizabeth, Margaret Thatcher, Winston Churchill, Princess Diana - this is not a complete list of celebrities, which can be seen in the museum.

Regardless of the type of activity of prominent people, the exhibition of the London institution is regularly updated with new sculptures. Accepts guests from 9:00 to 19:00. The ticket price will cost each visitor £29.

National Gallery

A magnificent collection of art works is located in the National Art Gallery in London. An imposing gray building with a massive portico, powerful columns and a huge dome rises on Trafalgar Square. More than 2,000 paintings by famous masters of art from all over the world are exhibited in the elegantly decorated interiors of the premises. The collection consists of masterpieces created since the 13th century. Gallery visitors can clearly see how the trends and technical features of writing the immortal works of genius by great artists have changed over the course of many centuries.

Among the examples of the art of painting, paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Caspar Friedrich, Titian, Rembrandt, Bartolomeo Murillo, Carlo Crivelli and other masters of their era deserve special attention. The National Gallery in London has an impressive collection of Orthodox icons from the Byzantine, Greek and Russian schools of writing. Opening hours: daily from 10:00 to 18:00 and until 21:00 (on Fridays). Entrance is completely free.

Tate Modern Gallery

In a colorful five-story building of a former power plant on the banks of the River Thames, there is a modern art gallery - Tate Modern. The cult place is of interest to lovers of abstract, avant-garde and innovative creativity. The industrial structure is crowned with a hundred-meter chimney and a glass roof. Curious paintings, photographs, exhibits, installations and sculptures are exhibited in the halls with high ceilings against the background of dark bricks. Here, many art objects produce an ambiguous impression, bewilderment, and sometimes even cause irritation. Nevertheless, the collection involves visitors in understanding the current problems of society.

The gallery contains more than 70 thousand works by various artists, including Picasso, Malevich, Monet, Warhol and other masters of abstract art. Basically, the fund of the institution consists of world masterpieces of surrealism created during the 20th century. Open every day from 10:00 to 18:00 (Sunday-Thursday) and until 21:00 (Friday-Saturday). Visiting the exposition is free.

Institute of Contemporary Arts

In the business district of the capital of Britain is the Institute of Contemporary Art. This is a prestigious exhibition platform, where exhibits of new trends in the visual arts are presented to the public. The institution was founded in 1946 by collectors, writers and critics. The creative intelligentsia wanted to open here a place for workshops for artists who could express their creative ideas outside the existing limits of classical art standards.

The Institute of Contemporary Art has a gallery, a cinema, a bookstore and a café. Visitors are shown an exposition that promotes the avant-garde, provocative and marginal direction in creativity. These are paintings, sculptures, performances, video installations. Concerts are often held here. The entrance is free. The gallery is open from 12:00 to 23:00.

Wallace Collection

The curiosity of tourists will satisfy the contemplation of a unique collection of masterpieces of art of one of the revered English marquises - Sir Richard Wallace. The museum is based on the richest private collection of paintings, medieval weapons, fine sculptures, antique furniture and many decorative and applied items. The exhibits amaze the audience with their performance and magnificence. Valuable artefacts were bequeathed by the Marquess of the British Nation for all to see.

The exhibits are stored in the Wallace family mansion, built in the 18th century. An impressive collection of works of art is exhibited in 25 rooms among luxurious interiors that embody the aristocratic residence of the Victorian era. The preserved cozy atmosphere makes visiting the museum akin to coming to visit Sir Wallace personally.

Tourists can get aesthetic pleasure from admiring a wide variety of paintings written by the greatest masters of their time. These are the creations of Rembrandt, Rubens, Titian, van Dyck, Canaletto, Boucher and many other artists. Samples of carved furniture dating back to the 17th century, as well as golden caskets, beautiful sculptures and porcelain items attract attention. Receives guests daily from 10:00 to 17:00. Free admission.

Harry Potter Museum

True fans of the legendary story of the young wizard Harry Potter will be very interested in visiting the museum of the same name, located near London. This is a whole complex consisting of huge pavilions with stunning scenery, various buildings and props. Hundreds of detailed locations, costumes of heroes, recognizable artifacts immerse tourists in the wonderful world of fairy tales and adventures.

Cinema City is home to the latest productions of the iconic Harry Potter films. Museum guests will discover the secrets of creating spectacular scenes with special effects. Tourists can expect Hogwarts study halls, Dumbledore's office, the famous platform 9 ¾, Diagon Alley and many other familiar places from the franchise.

Tickets can only be purchased on the museum's official website. Their cost for adults is 43 pounds sterling, for children from 5 to 15 years old - 35 pounds. The Harry Potter Museum welcomes its guests every day from 8:30 (Saturday, Sunday) and from 9:30 (Monday-Friday) to 22:00.

Geoffrey Museum

The Jeffrey Museum is located in an old two-story building of the former almshouse of the 18th century, where guests of the British capital can get acquainted with the history of the development of English domestic life. The exposition reflects the changes in the arrangement of the dwellings of the representatives of the middle class in London. The collection clearly demonstrates how people's taste preferences about the comfort, style and design of their apartments were formed. In eleven small halls, residential apartments of different time periods are recreated, from 1600 to the present day.

Particular attention is paid to furniture and arts and crafts. The walls and ceilings are decorated with original patterned ornaments, drawings, oak panels or wallpaper. Visitors will see carved chairs, tables and cabinets, as well as fireplaces, textile samples, crockery, vases, candlesticks, boxes and other interior accessories.

Doors are open from Tuesday to Sunday. Opening hours: 10:00 - 17:00. Free admission. Touching the exhibits is strictly prohibited. There is a picturesque garden around, where tourists can walk along the green lawn under the crowns of trees.

Imperial War Museum

The majestic building with a massive dome and an Ionic portico-entrance houses numerous military exhibits. It is noteworthy that until 1936 the historic building belonged to the Royal Psychiatric Hospital. The collection is dedicated to the military conflicts of the 20th century, in which the army of the British Empire took part. Around the complex there is a well-groomed park. A giant model of a double-barreled artillery gun was installed on its territory. Here you can also see the monument to Soviet soldiers who fell in World War II.

Exhibition pavilions are filled with tanks, aircraft, ballistic missiles, lightly armored vehicles and various types of weapons. Among the copies are English, Russian and German weapons. Skillfully created trenches with trenches, dugouts with barbed wire and command posts involuntarily transport visitors to the complex into the harsh reality of wartime. The exhibits of MI-6 intelligence, personal belongings of soldiers, unique archival documents and photographs deserve special attention.
Receives its guests daily from 10:00 to 18:00. Free admission.

It is impossible to pass by the informative, interactive and free local history museum of London. The institution invites its guests to follow the rich history of one of the largest European capitals in chronological order. The exposition covers time periods from the Stone Age to the present day. Tourists can visit the institution every day from 10:00 to 18:00.

The fund impresses with its diversity. Here are numerous artifacts of archaeological excavations, including stone axes, axes, spears, swords, arrows, jewelry, personal belongings of Roman legionnaires, skulls of primitive people and much more. Of interest is the collection of classic dresses, costumes, photographs, paintings, dishes, toys, as well as household items. The jewel of the collection is the gilded carriage of one of the venerable lords of Britain, made in 1757.

The halls recreate the quarters of old London with shops, workshops, bank branches, bakeries, taverns, hairdressers and ateliers. Visitors will learn how once the townspeople baked bread, processed metal, sewed clothes and used ancient tools. Impressive LED screens show videos from the history of the city.

Science Museum

It is an entertaining and fascinating place that attracts the attention of a huge number of tourists. The galleries of the five-story building house more than 300,000 exhibits. All of them belong to the highest achievements of the human mind. An impressive collection is devoted to scientific activities in the field of space, technology, medicine, chemistry and industry. Genuine interest among the audience is caused by unique steam engines, engines, aircraft, computers, rare cars, space equipment, rockets, various mechanisms, household appliances and other inventions.

Models are made in natural size. The museum presents interactive exhibits that clearly demonstrate how a particular device looks like from the inside. A separate room is filled with medical instruments of labor of doctors of the past centuries. Here you can also get acquainted with modern methods of diagnosis and treatment of various diseases.

Tourists will be curious to study some physical phenomena with the help of simple experiments, as well as to explore the possibilities of the human body and sense organs. Innovative virtual reality technologies offer visitors to feel like an astronaut, travel through the expanses of the Universe and visit a space station.

Open daily from 10:00 to 18:00. Entrance to the complex is free. Voluntary donations are welcome.

Horror Museum

The London Dungeon, which means "London Dungeon", is an original combination of a museum, a quest and a theatrical performance. The popular attraction is designed to immerse non-nervous tourists into the gloomy atmosphere of medieval torture, bloody crimes and criminal events from the history of the British capital. Impressions from what is happening are enhanced by special effects, soundtracks, fetid odors, excellent scenery and actors dressed in historical costumes.

Visitors will become unwitting participants in a comic and sometimes creepy performance. In the labyrinths of the dungeon, in dim light, you will find executioners with axes, leprous victims of the plague, wandering dead, serial killers and maniacs. Each of them will be able to greatly tickle the nerves of tourists. The audience will see corpses with their throats cut and their intestines released. Numerous devices for committing torture are catching up with fear.

Guests will have the opportunity to wander through the fire-torn neighborhoods and tunnels, visit Sweeney Todd's hairdresser, hide from Jack the Ripper, go on a decrepit boat in complete darkness to the scaffold. Tourists will be sentenced to death by hanging, which will end with a sharp fall into a special mine. No one will suffer, but everyone will remain under a strong impression.

"London Dungeon" welcomes its guests every day from 10:00 to 16:00 (on weekdays) and until 18:00 (Saturday, Sunday). Ticket price online through the museum's official website is 21 pounds.

Wellington Museum

Next to the famous Hyde Park in London rises a classic mansion, decorated with a Corinthian portico and lined with limestone. In this building lived the victorious battle of Waterloo, the duke and the great commander - Arthur Wellington. He became famous not only for his military courage, but also for collecting masterpieces of art.

Today, the luxurious halls of the mansion house a museum. Valuable art trophy canvases captured by Wellington during military campaigns against the French are exhibited here. The primordial aristocratic interior of the premises gives a special entourage for enjoying the works of painting. The exposition is filled with works by such masters as Rubens, Velasquez, van Dyck, Caravaggio, Goya, Murillo and many other artists. In addition to the art gallery, visitors to the museum will see exquisite furniture, as well as a collection of porcelain, silver, weapons and orders.

At the entrance, tourists are greeted by a three-meter statue of Napoleon, made by the famous sculptor Antonio Canova. The Emperor is represented in the guise of Mars the Peacemaker. The statue symbolizes the defeated enemy Arthur Wellington and reminds everyone of the merits of the British commander. Open from Wednesday to Sunday during the summer season (11:00-17:00) and from Saturday to Sunday during the winter season (10:00-16:00). The price of an adult ticket is 10 British pounds.

Klink Prison Museum

For thrill-seekers, the former Clink prison opens its gloomy doors, located near the banks of the Thames. The surviving basement houses a thematic museum. This terrifying place inspired fear in the inhabitants of London from the 12th century to 1780. Today, tourists flock here every day to tickle their nerves.

The founder of the prison was the Bishop of Winchester, who was distinguished by his cruelty towards prisoners. Debtors, brawlers, drunkards, heretics, thieves, harlots, as well as innocent people were sent to jail. The jailers extorted money from the arrested for food, candles and bedding.

The atmosphere of the cells of a medieval prison is recreated as authentically as possible. Visitors can see numerous instruments of torture, the principle of which makes the blood run cold. Wax figures of convicts and audio recordings of heartbreaking moans add to the eerie experience. Prison "Clink" receives its guests daily. From July to September it is open from 10:00 to 21:00. In the period October-June, viewing the exposition is limited until 18:00. Ticket price - 7.5 £.

Bank of England Museum

The Bank of England Museum is housed in a classic 18th-century building with columns, a portico and sculptures on its façade. The exposition of the institution reflects the history of the formation of the financial system of the state. Unique banknotes, royal coins, gold bars, original engravings, sculptures, IOUs and various documents are on display.

The museum fund has rare muskets and lances used in the old days by guards to protect the bank. Among the exhibits you can see various pieces of furniture. Noteworthy is a large iron chest that served as a safe. Of interest is the reconstruction of an old office building with wax figures dressed in historical attire. Available for visiting on weekdays from 10:00 to 17:00. Free admission.

Churchill Museum

Near St. James Park, under the Treasury building, there is a unique place - Winston Churchill's underground bunker. Here, at a depth of about five meters, during the German bombardment, an outstanding British statesman held a cabinet meeting and gave orders to the army. Since 1984, the bunker has been a museum, where Churchill's personal belongings and a considerable number of interesting exhibits are on display.

The interiors of the Prime Minister's headquarters have a rather ascetic and practical look, corresponding to wartime conditions. Massive steel blocks under the ceiling protected the shelter from shells. Tourists will see not only Churchill's office and apartments, but also working rooms for members of the government, signalmen, typists and various personnel. The rooms are filled with desks, chairs, beds and other attributes. In some rooms, wax mannequins mimic activity quite convincingly.

The collection showcases authentic documents, maps, telephones and clothing items used by Winston Churchill. Famous attributes are of interest: a box of smoking cigars, a cane, a top hat and a "butterfly" with polka dots. A notable exhibit of the complex is an interactive fifteen-meter table. Its sensory surface reflects information about all the details of the life of the great Briton. Open every day from 9:30 to 18:00.

Tea and Coffee Museum

The capital of Great Britain invites its guests to visit the tea and coffee museum. Tourists are given the opportunity to thoroughly get acquainted with the history and culture of consumption of these fragrant and favorite drinks of millions of people. The exposition consists of an impressive collection of priceless attributes related to the tea and coffee ceremony. In the halls you can see Chinese porcelain dishes, Japanese bowls, miniature cups, whisks for whisking tea leaves, sets painted with colorful ornaments, Russian meter-long samovars and much more.

The walls are decorated with picturesque engravings and paintings depicting scenes from the ritual of tea drinking. Teapots of various shapes, sizes and models are of particular delight. They are represented as dragons, lions, cars, mailboxes, policemen, locomotives and pieces of furniture. Open every day from 10:00 to 18:00. The ticket price is £4.

Pollock Toy Museum

Offers tourists to plunge into the magical and carefree world of a good childhood. This place has prepared for its viewers a lot of wonderful impressions and pleasant surprises. Small rooms connected by spiral staircases are filled with charming dolls, designers, soldiers, puppets, cars, airplanes and all kinds of mechanical knick-knacks.

The museum is named after the famous master of toys and theatrical scenery of the Victorian era - Benjamin Pollock. Most of the exhibits are unique historical specimens. The exposition has wax, porcelain, plastic, wooden, fabric and even paper toys. Some dolls "live" in their amazing houses. Their miniature apartments are furnished with furniture and utensils. A separate showcase is dedicated to teddy bears, nesting dolls, as well as Dymkovo and carved Bogorodsk toys.

The toy exhibition can be visited on any day except Sunday. Works from 10:00 to 17:00. Admission is £5 for adults and £2 for children.

Museum of Childhood

The exhibits will certainly bring a lot of joyful emotions to adults and young travelers. In the huge galleries of the two-story pavilion, a collection of various toys from around the world is collected. These are dolls, puppets, soldiers, figurines of famous characters, robots, all kinds of board games, teddy bears, wooden horses, constructors, clockwork trains, cars and many other funny items. The Museum of Childhood is open daily from 10:00 to 17:45. Free admission.

The property of the foundation is the exposition of dollhouses displayed behind the glass showcases of the racks. Many of the models have an open view, allowing viewers to view miniature furniture, tiny crockery and appreciate the detailed interiors of miniature apartments. It is impossible to pass by exquisite toy porcelain sets. The diameter of cups and plates does not exceed five centimeters. The doll's tableware is covered with floral ornaments and colorful patterns.

Noteworthy items of children's clothing for boys and girls. Dresses and costumes of the 18th-19th centuries are presented. Rare wooden, ceramic and wax cute dolls amaze visitors with luxurious outfits, hand-embroidered a century ago. Delight is caused by mechanical toys - plying trains, dancing ballerinas, walking robots and moving figurines.

Sir John Soane Museum

It attracts tourists with an abundance of unique works of art. The apartments of the studio house where J. Soane lived and worked are literally cluttered with antiques. Here you can see fragments of architectural landmarks, antique marble and plaster frescoes, archaeological artifacts, sculptures, minerals, vases, pictorial engravings and much more.

The art collection contains rare paintings by Piranesi, Hogarth and Canaletto. The walls of the picture room are screens that rise up with the help of hinges, revealing new images. Thus, hundreds of paintings were placed in a small room. The main part of the manic collector's exposition was brought from Italy, Egypt and Greece. The exhibits are exhibited randomly in relation to the chronological sequence and cultures of civilizations of different eras.

Convex mirrors and colored window panes create an incredible atmosphere. Accepts guests from Wednesday to Sunday. Opening hours: 10:00-17:00. Visiting the exposition is free.

Whitechapel Gallery

In the mysterious London district of Whitechapel, where Jack the Ripper committed murders hundreds of years ago, there is an art gallery of avant-garde art and abstract expressionism. The museum was founded in 1901 and became one of the first public institutions funded by the state. The gallery gained wide popularity thanks to the exhibition of paintings by Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko, Frida Kahlo, Jackson Pollock, Robert Crumb and other contemporary masters.

To date, the exhibition halls of the gallery exhibit outrageous and surreal sculptures, paintings and photographs. Of interest are unexpected and provocative performances that reflect the pressing social problems in society. The Whitechapel Gallery is open from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm every day except Monday. Free admission.

Jack the Ripper Museum

The Jack the Ripper Museum is located among the old Victorian architectural ensemble of the Whitechapel area. In 1888, a mysterious serial killer terrified the locals in a not-so-prosperous area of ​​London. Jack's victims were women of easy virtue, whom he ruthlessly cut, leaving no living space on the body.

The history of the creation of the museum

The museum was founded at the behest of the physician and naturalist Sir Hans Sloan(1660–1753). During his life, he collected an extensive collection (more than 71 thousand items) and, not wanting it to be divided after his death, he bequeathed it to King George II.

June 7, 1753 George II signed an Act of Parliament establishing the British Museum. An act of founding added the Cotton Library and the Harley Library to the Sloan collection. In 1757, the Royal Library was added to them, and in addition the right to receive a copy of any book published in Britain. These first four collections of the museum contained veritable treasures of British literature, including the only surviving copy of the medieval epic Beowulf.

The British Museum was a harbinger of a new type of museum for a number of reasons: it was not owned by the crown or the church, admission was free, and it tried to capture the diversity of human culture in its collections.

Montague House

The museum was originally located in Montague House, a mansion of the 17th century, bought out as a museum. Interestingly, the museum's board of trustees rejected the option of placing the collections in Buckingham House, today called Buckingham Palace, due to high cost and inconvenient location.

The opening of the museum to the public took place on January 15, 1759. From the very first years of the museum's existence, its collections were constantly replenished through gifts, donations and the purchase of private collections. Thus, in the 1760s-1770s, the collection of treatises from the time of the Civil War (1640s), plays of the 16th-17th centuries, and a collection of Greek vases replenished the wealth of the museum. Since 1778, the museum has exhibited a variety of items collected by Captain Cook on his travels around the world. In 1784, W. Hamilton, the British ambassador in Naples, sold his collection of Greek and Roman antiquities to the museum. At the beginning of the 19th century, the museum actively expanded its collections of ancient Egyptian and ancient art. So, in 1802, the famous Rosetta Stone was presented to the public, thanks to which it was possible to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics, and in 1818, by purchasing a bust of Pharaoh Ramses II, the foundation was laid for the collection of monumental sculpture of Ancient Egypt. In 1816, the museum bought from Thomas Bruce (British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in 1799-1803) a large collection of antique marble sculptures from the Athenian Parthenon. In 1825, collections of Assyrian and Babylonian art also appeared in the museum.

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The collections of the British Museum grew so rapidly that by the end of the 18th century Montagu House had become too small to store them, so in 1823 work began on the construction of a larger building in place of the old one. It was supposed that the new building would also contain an art gallery, but after the opening in 1824 in London, this was no longer necessary, and the empty premises were given over to natural history collections.

Since 1840, the museum has been organizing or financing archaeological expeditions in different parts of the world: on the island of Xanthos, in Lycia, Halicarnassus, on the ruins of the ancient cities of Nimrod and Nineveh. Finds made by expeditions replenish the museum's funds, sometimes founding entire areas of scientific research. Thus, the discovery of the huge cuneiform library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal made the British Museum one of the world centers of Assyrology.

From the middle of the 19th century, the museum began to expand with objects of art from medieval Britain and Europe and with ethnographic materials from around the world. The museum funds are replenished very quickly, and in 1887, due to the constant shortage of premises, the natural history collections were moved to the Museum of Natural History. But this did not solve the problem, so in 1895 the museum's board of trustees bought 69 buildings around it in order to expand the exposure. Work began in 1906.

In 1918, due to the threat of bombing, some of the items from the museum were evacuated to several safe places. When these items were returned to the museum, it turned out that some of them had deteriorated. For their restoration, a temporary restoration laboratory was created, which has been working on a permanent basis since 1931. In 1923, the number of museum visitors reached one million for the first time.

In 1939, due to the threat of war, the most valuable collections of the museum were again evacuated, and, as it turned out, very timely, since in 1940, during one of the Luftwaffe raids, one of the museum's galleries (Duvin Gallery) was seriously damaged.

In 1953 the museum celebrated its bicentenary. In subsequent years, its popularity among visitors did not decrease: in 1972, for example, about 1.7 million people visited the exhibition "Treasures of Tutankhamun". In the same 1972, by a decision of Parliament, it was decided to create a separate structure on the basis of the museum's book collections - the British Library. However, books began to be taken out of the museum only in 1997. Having freed up some space, it became possible to convert the square courtyard in the center of the library into a covered gallery, the largest in Europe - opened in 2000.

Today, the museum, although it has lost its library and collections of natural sciences, is still one of the largest museums in the world - its total area is 92 thousand m², more than 13 million items are stored in the funds. The museum also has the world's largest online database of its exhibits, with more than 2 million entries, 650,000 of which are illustrated. About 4 thousand exhibits from this database are accompanied by detailed descriptions. The museum also provides free access to several research catalogs and online journals.

Exhibitions of the British Museum

Items from the collections of the British Museum are housed in 100 galleries. In most of them, the exhibits are selected according to the territorial and chronological principle, but there are also thematic exhibitions, as well as a collection donated to the museum by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, the exhibits of which are exhibited in a separate gallery according to the will of the donor. The museum also regularly hosts guest exhibitions, the viewing of which is paid, in contrast to the permanent exhibitions of the museum. All museum funds are organized into several departments.

- group tour (no more than 15 people) for the first acquaintance with the city and the main attractions - 2 hours, 15 pounds

- see the historical core of London and learn about the main stages of its development - 3 hours, 30 pounds

- find out where and how the culture of tea and coffee drinking was born, and plunge into the atmosphere of those glorious times - 3 hours, 30 pounds

The museum houses the largest and most comprehensive collection of Egyptian antiquities since the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Covering the time period from the X millennium BC. e. until the 12th century A.D. e. and all aspects of the life of the Egyptian civilization, the collection of the British Museum is the most important world center of Egyptology.

The beginning of the Egyptian department of the museum was laid even at its foundation - in the Sloan collection there were 160 objects from Egypt. After the defeat of Napoleon in Egypt (1801), the valuables collected by the French during their Egyptian campaign (including the famous Rosetta Stone) were captured by the British army and soon replenished the museum's funds. Until the end of the 19th century, the collection of the department was replenished mainly due to purchases, but after the start of the work of the Egyptian Exploration Fund, objects discovered during excavations flowed into the funds of the department. In 1924, they already consisted of 57 thousand exhibits. During almost the entire 20th century, until legislation was passed in Egypt prohibiting the export of archaeological finds, the collection expanded. Today it contains about 110 thousand items.

Seven permanent Egyptian galleries, including the largest gallery No. 4, can accommodate only 4% of the collection for display. On the galleries of the second floor, a collection of 140 mummies and coffins is exhibited, the largest in the world after Cairo. This is one of the most popular expositions of the museum. The most valuable items in the collection include:

Amarna Archive (or Amarna Correspondence) - 95 of 382 clay tablets containing cuneiform diplomatic correspondence between the pharaohs and their representatives in Palestine and Syria (about 1350 BC). An invaluable source on the history of the Middle East.

Rosetta Stone (196 BC) - a stele with the text of the decree of King Ptolemy V. The enormous historical value of the stone lies in the fact that the text of the decree is carved in three versions: ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, demotic writing (Egyptian cursive) and in ancient Greek . This provided the key to deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.

“Palette with a battle” (other names are “Palette with vultures”, “Palette with giraffes”, “Palette with lions”) - stone plates (end of the 4th millennium BC) containing the oldest known images of military operations, and See also pictograms considered to be the predecessors of hieroglyphs.

Also of interest are:

• bust of Pharaoh Ramses II (circa 1250 BC);
• the royal list from the Temple of Ramses II (circa 1250 BC);
• a granite statue of Senusret III (circa 1850 BC);
• Mummy of Cleopatra from Thebes (100 AD);
• obelisk of Pharaoh Nectanebo II (360-343 BC);
• Guyer-Anderson's cat (7th-4th centuries BC) - a bronze sculpture of the goddess Bastet in the form of a cat. The exhibit is named after the donor.
• sculptural images of the pharaoh Amenhotep III - a huge limestone bust, a statue and a separate head made of red granite (c. 1350 BC);

The British Museum houses one of the world's largest collections of Greek and Roman antiquities (more than 100,000 items), covering the period from the beginning of the Bronze Age in Greece (about 3200 BC) to the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine I (early 4th century AD). e.).

The collection of ancient Greek artifacts also covers the Cycladic, Minoan and Mycenaean cultures. The most valuable exhibits are sculptures from the Parthenon temple in Athens and details of two wonders of the world - the Mausoleum in Halicarnassus and the Temple of Artemis of Ephesus. The department is home to one of the most important collections of Italic and Etruscan art. Other most valuable exhibits of the department include:

• objects from the Athenian Acropolis (sculptures and friezes from the Parthenon temple, one of the surviving caryatids (female figures) and a column from the Erechtheion temple, friezes from the temple of Nike Apteros);
• sculptures from the temple of Epicurean Apollo in Bassae - 23 details of the frieze of the temple;
• details of the Mausoleum in Halicarnassus (two huge figures depicting, presumably, King Mausolus and his wife Artemisia;
• part of the sculpture of a horse from a chariot crowning the Mausoleum;
• frieze depicting scenes of Amazonomachy - the war of the Greeks and Amazons);
• a brooch from Braganza - a golden ornament-fibula (3rd century BC);
• terracotta sarcophagus of the Etruscan aristocrat Seyancia Hanunia Tlesnasa (2nd century BC);
• gladius from Mainz - Roman sword and scabbard (beginning of the 1st century AD)

The collection of this department, numbering 330,000 exhibits, is without a doubt the largest collection of Mesopotamian antiquities outside of Iraq. Practically all civilizations and cultures of the ancient Near East are represented in the collections of the department - Mesopotamia, Persia, Arabia, Anatolia, the Caucasus, Syria, Palestine, Phoenicia and its Mediterranean colonies.

The funds of the department began to form in 1772, but they replenished at an especially rapid pace after the start of full-fledged archaeological expeditions in Mesopotamia (Iraq) in the middle of the 19th century. The discovery of the ruins of the palaces and archives of the Assyrian kings in Nimrod and Nineveh, excavations in Karchemish (Turkey), Babylon and Ur (Iraq) greatly enriched the collection of the museum. The cultures of the countries surrounding Mesopotamia are also widely represented - the Achaemenid Empire (in particular, the famous Amu Darya treasure), the Palmyra kingdom and Urartu. One of the largest collections of Islamic art (about 40 thousand items) is also kept - ceramics, fine art objects, tiles, glass, seals, etc. Of the entire wealth of the department's funds, only a small part is exhibited - 4,500 items occupying 13 galleries.

The most valuable exhibits of the department:

• Bas-reliefs from the palace of the Assyrian king Sargon II in Khorasabad;
• Gate from Balavat - bronze details of the entrance gate of the Assyrian fortress with images of the life of kings;
• Cylinder of Cyrus from Babylon;
• Bronze collection from Urartu;
• Amu Darya treasure (or Oka treasure) - a treasure of 180 gold and silver items of the Achaemenid period (VI-IV centuries BC), found on the territory of present-day Tajikistan.

Items from Nimrod:

• alabaster bas-reliefs from the palaces of the Assyrian kings Ashurnazirpal II, Tiglathpalasar III, Esarhaddon, Adad-nirari III;
• two sculptures of lions with human heads - "lamassu" (883-859 BC);
• huge lion statue (883-859 BC)
• the black obelisk of Shalmaneser III (858-824 BC);
• statue of Ashurnasirpal II;
• statue of Idrimi (1600 BC)

Items from Nineveh:

• alabaster reliefs from the palaces of the Assyrian kings Ashurbanipal and Sennacherib with scenes of hunting and palace life, in particular the Dying Lion relief, considered a masterpiece of Assyrian art;
• royal library of Ashurbanipal (22 thousand clay tablets with cuneiform texts);
• a tablet with the text of the myth of the Flood, considered part of the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Finds from the Sumerian city of Ur:

• “Standart of War and Peace” (c. 2500 BC) - two wooden panels of unclear purpose with scenes of war and peace inlaid with mother-of-pearl;
• "Sheep in the bushes" (c. 2600-2400 BC) - a figure of a ram standing on its hind legs and leaning on the trunk of a bush. The figure is made of wood and decorated with gold, silver and lapis lazuli;
• "Royal Game" (c. 2600-2400 BC) - a set for a board game, one of the oldest in the world;
• The Queen's Harp (c. 2500 BC) is one of the oldest stringed musical instruments. It has the shape of a bull, made of sandstone, the bull's head is golden.

Department of Ancient History and Europe

The collection of this department includes items relating to both the most ancient periods of human history (from 2 million years ago) and the history of Europe. The museum's funds relating to the period of the early European Middle Ages are the largest in the world. The most interesting exhibits:

Prehistoric:

• "Lovers from Ain Sakhri" - a stone figurine of the 10th millennium BC. e., found near Bethlehem and is the oldest image of people having sex;
• gold goblet from Ringlemer (England, 18th-16th centuries BC);
• a gold necklace from Sintra (Portugal, X-VIII centuries BC);
• decanters from Bas-Jutes (France, 5th century BC);
• the Cordoba hoard of silver objects (Spain, c. 100 BC);
• necklaces from Ourense (Spain, c. 300-150 BC)

Roman period in Britain:

• tablets from Vindolanda (wooden tablets with handwritten texts of the 1st-2nd centuries AD);
• the Thetford treasure (hoard of many silver and gold items from the 4th century AD);
• goblet of Lycurgus (4th century AD) - a Roman glass goblet, the peculiarity of which is that its glass changes its color from green to red depending on the location of the light source.

Early Middle Ages:

• hoard from Sutton Hoo (Engia) - items (ceremonial helmets, gold jewelry, weapons) found in two burials of the 6th-7th centuries;
• the Franks casket is an 8th-century whalebone box richly carved.

Middle Ages:

• chess pieces from the Isle of Lewis (Scotland) - 78 walrus tusk pieces (XII century);
• the royal gold goblet, or Goblet of St. Agnes, a gold goblet decorated with enamel and pearls, made for the French royal family in the 14th century;
• cancer for the holy crown of thorns (c. 1390s) - made of gold and richly decorated with precious stones and pearls of cancer to store one of the most important Christian relics. Belonged to the French royal house;
• the Borradale triptych and the Werner triptych - Byzantine ivory triptychs (X century);
• triptych of John Grandison - ivory triptych (England, about 1330);
• staff of the Bishop of Kells (IX-XI centuries) - a staff with a silver knob, presumably belonging to the Bishop of Kells (Ireland).

Asia Division

The exhibits of this department represent the material culture of the entire Asian continent (with the exception of the Middle East) from the Neolithic to the present day. Most popular exhibits:

• the most complete collection of sculptures from India, including Buddhist limestone bas-reliefs from Amarawiti;
• an outstanding collection of Chinese antiquities - drawings, porcelain, bronze, lacquerware and jade;
• a collection of Buddhist paintings from Dunhuang (China) and the Scroll of Instruction by the artist Gu Kaizhi (344-406);
• the most extensive collection of Japanese art in the West;
• the famous hoard of Buddhist gold and silver sculptures from Sambas (Indonesia);
• a statue of Tara from Sri Lanka (VIII century);
• Buddhist vases from Kullu and Wardak;
• a huge statue of Buddha Amitabha from Gancui (China).

Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas

The British Museum has one of the largest collections of ethnographic material from Africa, Oceania and the Americas, representing the life of the indigenous peoples of these parts of the world. More than 350 thousand items of this collection tell about 2 million years of human history.

The gems of the collection include bronzes from Benin, a fine bronze head of an Idian queen, a magnificent brass head of a Yoruba ruler from Ife (Nigeria), Ashanti gold items from Ghana, and a collection of sculpture, textiles and weapons from Central Africa.

The American collection mainly consists of items from the 19th and 20th centuries, but also includes older cultures of the Incas, Aztecs, Maya, and Mystics. In the museum you can see, for example, a series of amazing Mayan door lintels from Yaxchilan (Mexico), a collection of turquoise Aztec mosaics from Mexico, and a group of Zemi figures from Vere (Jamaica).

Department of coins and medals

The British Museum owns one of the world's largest collections of coins and medals, with around 1 million items. The exhibits of the collection cover the entire history of coinage - from the 7th century BC to the 7th century BC. e. and up to our days. Museum visitors can see only 9,000 exhibits (most of them are placed in the gallery number 68, the rest - in different galleries of the museum).

Department of prints and drawings

The Department of Prints and Drawings of the British Museum is one of the largest collections of its kind, along with the collections of the Albertina (Vienna), the Louvre (Paris) and the Hermitage (St. Petersburg). Today, the department stores about 50,000 drawings and more than 2 million engravings and woodcuts by prominent European artists from the 14th century to the present day. In particular, in the museum you can see collections of drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, one of the largest collections of drawings, engravings and lithographs by Durer (138 drawings, 99 engravings, 6 etchings, 346 woodcuts), Rubens, Rembrandt, Claude, Watteau and many others. The department also holds over 30,000 drawings and watercolors by prominent British artists. More than 500 thousand exhibits of the department are listed in the online database, many of them with high-quality illustrations.

Controversial issues of the museum

In recent years, the museum has faced claims from a number of countries and organizations regarding the ownership of certain art objects exported to England at different times. The museum rejects these claims on the grounds that "demands for restitution would destroy not only the British Museum, but every major museum in the world." In addition, the British Museums Act 1963 prohibits the removal of any items from museum collections. The items that are the most controversial are:

• sculptures from the Parthenon temple, semi-legally exported by the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire Count Elgin at the beginning of the 19th century. Greece demands the return of these cultural objects. They are supported by UNESCO;
• bronze sculptures from the Kingdom of Benin. Their return is sought by Nigeria;
• tabots - ritual tablets with ten commandments, taken out of Ethiopia by the British army;
• Amudarya treasure (Oka treasure). Tajikistan is seeking his return;
• Egypt demands the return of the Rosetta Stone;
• China has made claims regarding more than 24,000 scrolls, manuscripts, paintings and relics (including the Diamond Sutra) from the Mogao caves.

History and treasures of the Tower - follow the long path of the castle-prison, get to know its symbols and admire the royal regalia - 2 hours, £45

- where, how and what kind of tea in modern London do true connoisseurs drink - 3 hours, 30 pounds

- discover the most colorful, musical and iconic area of ​​the city - 2 hours, 30 pounds

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